Vanity Cabinet Having Adjustable Mirror

ABSTRACT

A vanity cabinet for installation in countertops is provided comprising a bottom panel, an upstanding rear support at the rear of the bottom panel, a front support pivotably secured at the front of the bottom, two opposing side walls and a cover pivotably secured over the bottom panel to the rear support. In a preferred version the cover is adapted to be raised and lowered over the bottom panel. When raised, the cover exposes a rigid mirror support pivotably secured to the underside of the cover. The mirror support preferably contains a mirror pivotably secured to the mirror support. The mirror support is movably supported by bearings positioned on each side wall. In use, the mirror is pivotable to different angular positions with respect to the mirror support. Further, the mirror support itself is pivotable to different angular positions with respect to the cover.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.60/793,610, filed Apr. 20, 2006, the entirety of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein.

STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of vanity cabinet structures have been used over theyears. Many have included folding tops or covers which may be raised toreveal a mirror positioned for viewing when a person is positioned infront of the cabinet. Prior known vanity cabinet structures have,however, suffered from numerous deficiencies making them undesirablefrom various standpoints.

For instance, vanities can contain pivotable top covers raised to exposemirrors for viewing. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 1,062,962 discloses apivoted mirror hinged to the rear of a slide-out drawer. The drawer mustbe pulled out to its full extent before the mirror is properlypositioned for viewing. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 1,443,858 discloses amirror combined with a storage cabinet such that when a tiltedreceptacle is swung outwardly toward the front of the cabinet, a pair ofpivoted links are moved upwardly and outwardly to both raise a top coverand swing a hinged mirror outwardly to a viewing position at the top ofthe cabinet.

However, conventional vanity mirror's often severely limit use of themirror for viewing. This is especially true for close-up viewing, sincethe sliding drawers or pivoted storage areas prevent close approach tothe viewing surface. Moreover, it is virtually impossible to remainseated in front of one of these structures when the drawer or pivotedstorage cabinet is operated.

Therefore, a need exists for a hidden vanity cabinet that allows closeup viewing of the user that is hidden during non use.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect the invention provides a vanity cabinet comprising abottom panel, an upstanding rear support at the rear of the bottompanel, a front support pivotably secured at the front of the bottom, twoopposing side walls and a cover pivotably secured over the bottom panelto the rear support.

In a preferred version the cover is adapted to be raised and loweredover the bottom panel and supported in spaced relation to the bottompanel by the front support when lowered. When raised, the cover exposesa rigid mirror support pivotably secured to the underside of the cover.The mirror support contains a mirror pivotably secured to the mirrorsupport. The mirror support is movably supported by bearings positionedon each side wall.

The mirror is pivotable to different angular positions with respect tothe mirror support. Further, the mirror support itself is pivotable todifferent angular positions with respect to the cover.

The bearings movably support the mirror support between the rear andfront supports to allow automatic pivotal movement of the mirror supportaway from the cover and over and along the bottom panel to an uprightposition for viewing of the mirror when the cover is raised. In apreferred version the mirror and mirror support automatically pivotdownwardly and outwardly away from the cover to position the mirror forunobstructed close-up viewing when the cover is raised.

The vanity of the present invention also comprises a drawer memberslidingly mounted to the side walls of the invention. The front supportis pivotably secured to the bottom panel, thereby allowing the frontsupport to be lowered to access the drawer member.

Accordingly, the present vanity presents several advantages over theprior art. For instance, the mirror is pivotable both in relation to thecover and the mirror support. In use, therefore, a user may adjust themirror without adjusting the entire mirror support. This greatlyincreases the ease and convenience of the vanity to the user. Further,the vanity of the present invention provides additional storage in theform of a drawer. Advantageously, the drawer does not need to beaccessed to use the mirror.

The foregoing and other advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following description. In the description that followsreference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a partthereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration, and notlimitation, expected preferred embodiments of the invention. Suchembodiments do not necessarily represent the full scope of theinvention, and reference should therefore be made to the claims hereinfor interpreting the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a left front perspective view of the vanity apparatus of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a left front perspective view of the vanity of FIG. 1 with themirror exposed;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the interior of the vanity of FIGS. 1 and2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the vanity of FIGS. 1 and 2 with the mirroropened and the drawer pulled out;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the interior of the vanity of FIGS. 1 and2 with the mirror and drawer hidden; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of the vanity showing the mirror opened and tiltedfor close-up viewing and the front cover opened.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, a preferred embodiment of the vanity 10 of thepresent invention is shown. As seen in FIG. 1, the vanity 10 comprises abottom panel 12, an upstanding rear support 14 at the rear of the bottompanel 12, a front support 16 pivotably secured at the front of thebottom panel 12, two opposing side walls 18 and a cover 20 pivotablysecured over the bottom panel 12 to the rear support 14.

The cover 20 is preferably pivotably secured over the bottom panel bymeans of a hidden hinge 34 as shown in FIG. 2. However, in alternateversions, other pivoting structures may be used.

As seen in FIG. 2, the vanity 10 also comprises a rigid mirror support22 pivotably secured to the underside of the cover 20. The mirrorsupport 22 is preferably secured to the underside of the cover 20 viastandard piano hinges 36 mounted at opposing ends of the mirror support22.

The mirror support 22 is preferably movably supported by bearings 26positioned on each side wall 18. In a preferred version, the mirrorsupport 22 is pivotable to different angular positions along the lengthof the bearings 26. In this regard, the position of the mirror support22 may be adjusted with respect to the cover 20 when the cover 20 israised.

In a preferred version, the mirror support 22 supports a mirror 24pivotably secured to the mirror support 22. The mirror 24 is preferablypivotable to different angular positions with respect to the mirrorsupport 22. For instance, the mirror 24 may pivots on the mirror support22 via a hinge 23.

In an alternate version, the mirror support 22 preferably pivots out toexpose a center section mirror (not shown) that rotates 180 degrees. Inthis version, the mirror may comprises a regular mirror on one side anda 2× magnifying mirror on the opposing side.

In use, when a user wants to put on make-up or otherwise closely viewtheir face, the user may sit in front of the vanity 10 (not shown) andraise the cover 20. This causes the mirror support 22 and mirror 24 toautomatically slide downwardly and outwardly away from the cover 20along the bearings 26. When the mirror support 22 is in the desiredposition, the user may secure the mirror support 22 in a given positionalong the bearings 26.

Once the position of the mirror support 22 has been selected, the usermay also further adjust the position of the mirror 24 by pivoting themirror 24 along its pivot 23. This allows the user to easily adjust theposition of the mirror 24 to accommodate, for instance, a taller person,without having to adjust the position of the mirror support 22.

As seen in FIG. 3, the cover 20 is preferably adapted to be raised andlowered over the bottom panel 12. Once raised, the cover 20 ispreferably supported in position by the mirror support. However, oncelowered, the cover 20 is preferably supported in spaced relation to thebottom panel 12 by the front support 16.

The vanity 10 further comprises a drawer member 28 slidingly mountedwithin the vanity 10. As seen in FIG. 4, the drawer member 28 may beslidingly removed from within the vanity 10 by lowering the front panel16 and pulling the drawer 28 outwardly from the vanity 10. In apreferred version the drawer 28 moves along bearings 30 (see FIGS. 5 and6) mounted along the insides of side walls 18. The vanity 10 thereforeprovides additional storage for the user.

In a preferred version the drawer member 28 does not have to be accessedto access the mirror 24.

As seen in FIG. 5, the vanity 10 is preferably contained within a singleunit. Thus, after use, a user may collapse the cover 20, thus moving themirror support 22 and mirror 24 along the bearings 26 until the mirrorsupport 22 and mirror 24 are collapsed within the vanity 10. Once inplace, the cover 20 is preferably closed over the mirror support 22 andmirror 24.

As seen in FIG. 6, the front cover 16 may be supported in the openposition by a hinge 32. The front cover 16 preferably has a scallopedsurface which corresponds to the front edge 34 of the cover 20. Thus,when the vanity is not in use, the casual observer may not notice theutility the vanity 10 of the present invention provides.

In a preferred version the vanity 10 is intended for installation in acounter top (along lines 5 as seen in FIG. 1) for use in a bathroom ordressing room. The countertop may or may not include a lavatory mountedthere through at one side. Therefore, the directional terms in thispatent are used with that type of installation in mind. However, thevanity 10 may also be used in combination with other cabinet systems.Thus, terms such as “front”, “rear”, “upper”, “lower”, and “side” shouldbe interpreted in an analogous manner when the vanity 10 is used for agiven type of installation.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be appreciated that the invention could be used in avariety of other embodiments.

Thus, the principles of the present invention can be applied in avariety of other ways apart from those specifically noted herein and/ordepicted in the drawings. Still other modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the claims(rather than just the preferred embodiments) should be reviewed in orderto understand the full scope of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention provides a vanity apparatus that contains anadjustable mirror and removable drawer for installation in a countertopapparatus.

1. A vanity cabinet comprising: a bottom panel; two opposing supportsattached to the bottom panel at opposing ends; two opposing side wallsattached to the bottom panel at opposing sides; a cover pivotablysecured to a support over the bottom panel, a rigid mirror supportpivotably secured to the underside of the cover; and a mirror pivotablysecured to the mirror support; wherein the mirror and mirror supportautomatically pivot downwardly and outwardly away from the cover toposition the mirror for unobstructed close-up viewing when the cover israised.
 2. The vanity of claim 1 further comprising bearings positionedon each side wall, wherein the bearings movably support the mirrorsupport between the opposing supports to allow automatic pivotalmovement of the mirror support away from the cover and over and alongthe bottom panel to an upright position for viewing of the mirror whenthe cover is raised.
 3. The vanity of claim 1 wherein the cover isadapted to be raised and lowered over the bottom panel and supported inspaced relation to the bottom panel by the front support when lowered.4. The vanity of claim 1 wherein the mirror support is pivotable todifferent angular positions with respect to the cover.
 5. The vanity ofclaim 1 wherein the mirror is pivotable to different angular positionswith respect to the mirror support.
 6. The vanity of claim 1 wherein thecover is adapted to be raised and lowered over the bottom panel andsupported in spaced relation to the bottom panel by the front supportwhen lowered.
 7. The vanity of claim 1 wherein one support is a frontsupport pivotably secured at the front of the bottom panel.
 8. Thevanity of claim 1 wherein one support is upstanding rear supportattached to the rear of the bottom panel.
 9. A vanity cabinetcomprising: a bottom panel; two opposing front and rear supportsattached to the bottom panel; two opposing side walls attached to thebottom panel; a cover pivotably secured over the bottom panel to therear support, a rigid mirror support pivotably secured to the undersideof the cover; a mirror pivotably secured to the mirror support; bearingspositioned on each side wall; and wherein the cover is adapted to beraised and lowered over the bottom panel and supported in spacedrelation to the bottom panel by the front support when lowered; whereinthe mirror is pivotable to different angular positions with respect tothe mirror support; wherein the mirror support is pivotable to differentangular positions with respect to the cover; wherein the bearingsmovably support the mirror support between the rear and front supportsto allow automatic pivotal movement of the mirror support away from thecover and over and along the bottom panel to an upright position forviewing of the mirror when the cover is raised; wherein the mirror andmirror support automatically pivot downwardly and outwardly away fromthe cover to position the mirror for unobstructed close-up viewing whenthe cover is raised.
 10. The vanity of claim 9 further comprising adrawer member slidably mounted within the vanity.
 11. The vanity ofclaim 10 wherein the drawer member is accessed by lowering the frontsupport.
 12. A vanity cabinet comprising: a bottom panel; an upstandingrear support at the rear of the bottom panel; a front support pivotablysecured at the front of the bottom; two opposing side walls; a coverpivotably secured over the bottom panel to the rear support, a rigidmirror support pivotably secured to the underside of the cover; a mirrorpivotably secured to the mirror support; bearings positioned on eachside wall; and a drawer member slidably mounted within the vanity;wherein the cover is adapted to be raised and lowered over the bottompanel and supported in spaced relation to the bottom panel by the frontsupport when lowered; wherein the mirror is pivotable to differentangular positions with respect to the mirror support; wherein the mirrorsupport is pivotable to different angular positions with respect to thecover; wherein the bearings movably support the mirror support betweenthe rear and front supports to allow automatic pivotal movement of themirror support away from the cover and over and along the bottom panelto an upright position for viewing of the mirror when the cover israised; wherein the drawer member is accessed by lowering the frontsupport; wherein the mirror and mirror support automatically pivotdownwardly and outwardly away from the cover to position the mirror forunobstructed close-up viewing when the cover is raised.